Holder for non-fluid lubricant.



No. 694,609. Pa'tentdd Mar. 4, I902.

' a. w. BROWN.

I HOLDER FUR NON-FLUID LUBRICANT.

(Applicatiug niod July 15, 1901.

(No Model.)

mh m, V,

elUBro /n;

rm: scams 1 mm 00.. worn-Lima. w nsumo'ron u c of the usual bearing.

7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE WINTIIROP BROWN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

HOLDER FOR NON- FLUID LUBRICANT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 694,609, dated March4, 1902. Application filed July 16 1901. Serial No. 68 287. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE VVINTHROP BROWN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Holders for Non-FluidLubricants, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on thedrawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the pro d'uction of a novel holder tocontain non-fluid lubricant for usein connection with bearings forshafting, and more especially with the bearings for the shafts ofelectric and other high-speed motors commonly employed onstreet-railways. It is common to employ oil, which is always fluid,in acup connected with the cap of a bearing, and oil is fed to the shaft asneeded by capillary attraction, .a wick, having one end immersed in theoil, rising from the oil and entering a tube of the cup containing theoil, the opposite end of the wick being led down to thebearing.

My improved holder is composed of a case open at the bottom andprovided, preferably, with a suitable tip to enter a hole in the cap Theshellcontainsa suitable feeding-tube in communication with the holereferred to, and the tube, having a suitable inlet, has drawn through itsnuglya wick of felt or other suitable material which fullyfills thediameter of the tube, and when into the wick and thence slowly to thecontact-surfaces of the shaft and bearing. To admit the fluid lubricantin desired quantities, I have provided the tube with a regulator,represented also as a tube surrounding the feeding-tube, said regulatorhaving a hole which maybe brought into alin'ement with any one of aplurality of holes in the lubricant-feeding tube. The regulator isrepresented as provided'with a pin which may enter either of a series ofslots in the feedingtube to thereby lock the regulator in any desiredposition.

It is likewise desirable at times to supply a fluid lubricant to thebearing to be lubricated prior to the time that the said bearing maybecome heated sufficiently toliquify the.

non-fluid lubricant, and to this end the feeding-tube is made open atboth ends, and-the wick extends upward in the feeding-tube somedistance, so as to permit the introduc tion of fluid lubricant into thetop of thefeeding-tube {and yet prevent too-rapid feed of said liquidlubricant to the bearing.

Figure 1 shows part of a bearing and shaft with my novel holder appliedthereto. Fig. 2is a top view of the holder detached and the wickomitted. Fig. 3 shows the regulator detached, and Fig. 4 shows thefeedingtube detached.

Referring to the drawings, let A represent a suitable standardsupporting in usual manner the under part B of a box or bearing, the capor upper part B being secured to the under part by suitable bolts 0. Thecap B has a suitable inlet a for the lubricant used to; lubricate theshaft D of the electric or any other high-speed motor.

My holder consists, essentially, of a case E, having a hole in itsunder. side, from which projects downwardly a suitable tip, as b, thebottom wall of the said case E being beveled or inclined, as at :0,toward the hole, so that as the lubricant becomes fluid, as hereinafterdescribed, it will run toward the said hole or center of the case E, aswill be evident from Figs. 1 and-2. The holder has secured in it asuitable feeding-tube, as 0, shown as provided with aplurality ofinlets, supposed to be four in number and of different area. Thisfeeding-tube has drawn through it a wick,

as d, which fills substantiallyclosely the in-,

terior diameter of the tube, the wick being composed of felt or anyother usual orsuitable fibrous material. The feeding-tube is surroundedby a regulator 6, provided at its lower end with a hole e and, as shown,at its upper end with a pin 6 be raised and lowered upon thefeeding-tube, and when raised it may be rotated more or less to placethe hole 6' opposite any one of the inlets 1, 2, or 3 of thefeeding-tube, and thereafter the regulator 6 may be lowered, and the pina will enter one or the other of a series of notches 4 in the upper endof the feeding-tube, said pin and notches constituting one form oflocking device to retain the The regulator e may regulator in positionto admit the lubricant into either one of the inlets referred to.

The lubricant with which the shell E is filled will be composed of oiland grease mixed to such consistency that it will not be fluid and runthrough the wick to the bearing, except when the shell becomes heated bycontact with the cap, the latter being heated by the action of therapidly-running shaft D in the bearing. The feeding-tube has the upperand lower ends thereof made open, so that liquid lubricant may beapplied directly to the feeding-tube to lubricate the hearing, ifdesired, prior to the time when said bearing becomes heated suflicientlyto liquefy the non-fluid lubricant.

The shell may be readily detached from the cap and a filled shell bereadily substituted for it, and when the shaft D is at rest thelubricant quickly assumes such consistency that it will not run, andhence there is no waste of lubricant while the shaft may be standing atrest in its bearing.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A case to contain a non-fluid lubricant, a feeding-tube having aninlet in its side wall and sustained within said case, said case havingthe bottom wall thereof inclined or beveled toward said feeding-tube,said feedingtube being open at its upper and lower ends and incommunication with an opening of a shaft-bearing,by which bearin g thecase holding the non-fluid lubricant is adapted to be heated, a wickfilling the diameter of said tube at its lower end, and a regulatorcoacting with the feeding-tube to permit the flow of lubricant from thecase through the side wall of the feeding-tube after said lubricant hasbecome fluid through the heating of the bearing and case, and whereby aliquid lubricant may be introduced to the bearing directly through thefeeding-tube.

2. A case to contain a non-fluid lubricant and having an opening in itsbottom, afeeding-tube having a plurality of inlets in its side wall andin communication with the opening in the bottom of the case, a wicksubstantially filling the feeding-tube at its lower end and preventingdirect movement of the nonfluid lubricant from the case through thefeeding-tube and regulating the flow of the lubricant after the bearingand case have become heated sufficiently to render the lubricant fluid,and a regulator coating with the feeding-tube to permit the lubricantwhen in fluid condition to enter one or the other of the inlets, andlocking means for the regulator, said case being also provided with abottom having a bevel or incline directed toward the opening in thefeed-tube, said feeding-tube being open at its ends to permit the directapplication of a liquid lubricant through the feeding-tube.

3. A case to contain a non-fluid lubricant and having an opening in itsbottom, a feeding-tube having a plurality of inlets and in communicationwith the opening in the bottom of the case, a wick substantially fillingthe feeding-tube at its lower end and preventing direct movement of thenon-fluid lubricant from the case through the feeding-tube andregulating the flow of the lubricant after the bearin g and case havebecome heated sufficiently to render the lubricant fluid, saidfeeding-tube being provided with a series of notches, and a regulatorcoacting with said feeding-tube to permit the lubricant when in fluidconditionto enter one or the other of the inlets in the feeding-tube,said regulator being provided with a pin to engage the notches in thefeeding-tube to lock the regulator in operative position, saidfeeding-tube being open at its upper and lower ends as and for thepurpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE VVINTHROP BROWN.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. GREGORY, EDITH M. STODDARD.

